I can remember at shows in the late 70s... 77-79... the mix sounded off, or muddled, on the first two to three songs.... California Girls... Sloop John B... things would finally start to mesh around Darlin' or Little Deuce Coupe (77 tour) and Shortnin' Bread (79 tour). These were at a mix of venues... Mississippi River Festival, Champaign-Urbana arena (indoor), SIU Arena... it sounded as if the mix was being done on the fly, without benefit of sound check.
That was how I heard it too. When Desper left with Zappa in the early 70s the sound went south. Think they used local mixers after that.↧